VLOOKUP in Excel Step by Step, With an Example

This page walks through VLOOKUP one step at a time, using a small invoice table as the running example throughout. Rather than presenting the finished formula and explaining it afterward, each step below builds the formula up one argument at a time so it's clear exactly why each piece is there.

By the last step, the same process can be applied to any two-column matching problem, regardless of what the actual data looks like.

Using this invoice table, the goal is to find the Amount Due for INV-3302:

The value being searched for - the lookup_value - is "INV-3302", and it needs to be found in column A, since that's the leftmost column.

The table_array needs to include the lookup column and every column you might want returned. Here that's A2:D4 - starting at the Invoice No column and extending through Due Date, even though only Amount Due is needed, because col_index_num counts from the start of this range.

Counting from A as 1, B as 2, and so on, Amount Due sits in column C, which is the third column in the selected range. So col_index_num is 3.

Since invoice numbers need to match exactly, the fourth argument is FALSE. Putting it together:

To reuse this formula for a list of invoice numbers, lock the table_array with F4 before copying it down, so every copy still points at A2:D4 rather than shifting. For matching an entire invoice list at once instead of copying formulas, Turbo Excel VLookup runs the same match across the whole file in a single step.

When a VLOOKUP formula that used to work suddenly returns the wrong value with no visible error, the most likely cause is that a column was inserted or deleted inside table_array, shifting col_index_num out of alignment with the intended column.

Selecting the formula and pressing F9 with just that part of the formula highlighted shows the calculated value inline, which is a quick way to confirm whether table_array is still pointing where it should.

A common source of confusing errors is editing the same table that a VLOOKUP formula is pulling from, especially when rows are sorted or filtered mid-edit. Keeping a clearly labeled, rarely edited "source" sheet that formulas pull from, separate from a "working" sheet where day-to-day changes happen, reduces the chance of a lookup silently pulling from a half-edited row.